Volvo to supply 24,000 cars to Uber

Ride-sharing company to use Volvo vehicles as base for self-driving future.

Volvo to supply 24,000 cars to Uber

The American ride-sharing company has announced that it has reached an agreement with Volvo to supply up to 24,000 autonomous-capable vehicles between 2019 and 2021.

Volvo has previously provided Uber with base vehicles equipped with the hardware to be at least partially autonomous as part of the ride-sharing company's self-driving trails.

Uber will adapt its own self-driving technologies to work with the compatible Volvo vehicles. Volvo will continue to develop its own autonomous drive systems in parallel with a view to launching its own fully autonomous vehicle in 2021

The latest agreement is part of a non-exclusive arrangement (meaning Uber can still source vehicles elsewhere) to supply vehicles based on Volvo’s Scalable Product Architecture, which includes the XC90, S90, V90 and new XC60 models.

“The automotive industry is being disrupted by technology and Volvo Cars chooses to be an active part of that disruption,” said Volvo's president and chief executive, Hakan Samuelsson.

“Our aim is to be the supplier of choice for AD [autonomous drive] ride-sharing service providers globally. Today’s agreement with Uber is a primary example of that strategic direction.”

Volvo has previously gone on the record to say that any automaker should be fully-responsible for its own autonomously-controlled vehicles in the event of an accident. At this stage the company hasn’t detailed if that responsibility extends to vehicles with software developed by third parties, as will be the case with the Uber agreement.

Special preparation for the fleet of up to 24,000 vehicles goes beyond that of the current 90-series range, with built in redundancy systems to take control of steering and braking to allow fully driverless operation even in the event of a malfunction.